Introducing Marukoyoshi by Yoshikane Hamono

[Marko Tsourkan]

Hey folks,
some of you have known that in addition to Shigefusa, I was considering a collaboration with Yoshikane Hamono. I am pleased to announced that Yoshikane would supply me with knives and I will customize them and offer them for sale. The knives will be sold under Marukoyoshi brand and will be in SKD-12 steel (semi stainless).

I ordered three sample knives made to custom thickness I requested. I got two - 240mm kasumi gyuto and 270mm damascus suji. Overall, I am satisfied with the quality, grind, and fit and finish. There are a few small things that need to be changed (I did that myself this time), and will be addressed in future orders, but overall, I think these are well rounded knives in good steel and at a good price.

270 Damascus suji is bespoken, a KU damascus suji should arrive in a few days and a gyuto is available. My web site is being worked on to accommodate new things, but once it's up, I will populate the store with things I make and knives I customize.

Here are some pictures before and after customization. The suji in the middle is KU suji. I haven't received it yet.

Marko

 

[Pensacola Tiger]

Very nice, Marko. I have a Yoshikane Tamamoku in Takefu V2 and I like it a lot.

Will you be putting the gyuto up in your store?

Rick

 

[apicius9]

They look nice. Sounds like a good steel, too.

Stefan

 

[Dave Martell]

Very nice Marko, these should sell well.

 

[maxim]

Nice work on the handles like alway
I have Yoshikane Suji special made in skd steel.
SKD 12 is so fare best SS steel i ever try, very very easy to sharpen hold its edge forever and very easy to remove the burr. It is nr 1 knife in my restaurant now it cut like razor and stay that way very long time.
I am very surprised with that steel i most say ! I used powder steel gyuto before that and it was pain to sharpen and chipet very often.
So probably best steel for line in pro kitchen.
So i order one gyuto too

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Nice work on the handles like alway
I have Yoshikane Suji special made in skd steel.
SKD 12 is so fare best SS steel i ever try, very very easy to sharpen hold its edge forever and very easy to remove the burr. It is nr 1 knife in my restaurant now it cut like razor and stay that way very long time.
I am very surprised with that steel i most say ! I used powder steel gyuto before that and it was pain to sharpen and chipet very often.
So probably best steel for line in pro kitchen.
So i order one gyuto too

Thanks guys. I don't plan swamping the market with Sanjo Maker knives, but I thought it would make a nice compliment (price-wise and in choice of steel) to Shigefusa and I am very found of makers who produce a knife from start to finishunder the same roof.

I was quite impressed with the workmanship, even though I ended up reshaping machi, so it is flush with the handle and gave the choil and heel area a little rounding so it feels nicely against the index finger. Dave can attest that working on a brand new knife making small modifications can be scary as hell, but everything went well.

Damascus on suji cladding is beautiful, but I would like the suji be a little thinner. I probably will end up thinning it for the person who purchased, but in the future orders I would like to do as little modification as possible.

Other than that, the fit and finish is very good, grind is very even without low spots, both knives are a bit heavier than thin knives like Konosuke HD, but I found that weight can be balanced off by a larger handle. Gyuto felt very comfortable in my hand, and I am sure I would have enjoyed using it.

SKD12 is the core steel on kasumi clad and SKD11 on damascus clad.

Marko

 

[add]

Stunning.

Best wishes on your sales...

 

[Aphex]

I think you've just found yourself a winner their Marko.

Could you give me a rough price for what a 240 kasumi gyuto would likely cost? PM me if you need to.

 

[oivind_dahle]

Where do I sign up?
Me want now

 

[JohnnyChance]

Looks good Marko! Always nice to have options.

 

[JohnnyChance]

Is the KU line single bevel? or just heavily ground on one side but still double bevel?

 

[oivind_dahle]

As far as I know its double beveled

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Is the KU line single bevel? or just heavily ground on one side but still double bevel?

It is double-beveled. I don't have it on hand yet, so I can't inspect it closely.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Here are some more specs on the gyuto. Also, you can see pics of machi before and after I reworked it. Seeing Maxim video gives me an itch for polishing it, but I probably won't do it this time.

Weight 202g
Tang Height - 14mm
Tang Thickness - 4.4mm
Machi Height - 17mm
Tang Lengh - 4 1/8"

Some more specs:
Height over Heel - 53.5mm
Cutting Edge Lengh - 250mm
Spine at the Handle - 4.4mm
Spine over Heel - 3.7mm
Spine in the Middle - 2.3mm
Spine 10mm from the tip - .8mm

 

[stereo.pete]

Mark,

That is some beautiful work.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Marukoyoshi KU damascus suji is here!

I must admit that I am very impressed with this knife. The blade is straight and thin, the grind is outstanding and workmanship impeccable.

You guys might not know, but many traditional smiths rarely show their craft at its best, as they forced to produce less expensive knives to compete with mass produced knives, but if paid fairly, many of these folks can really surprise you.

I borrowed a handle for the pictures from another suji. This knife will feature a Macassar ebony handle with a single spacer and will be available for sale shortly.

M

 

[maxim]

Wow that one look amazing :eek2:

 

[SpikeC]

What a lovely pattern on the blade!

:eek2:

 

[Cipcich]

Nice stone holder too . . .

 

[chuck239]

Marko,

Great looking knives. Any ideas on prices? I really like that suji. Any ideas on a price with custom handle like that?

-Chuck

 

[JohnnyChance]

KU line looks good. What is the difference between the first suji and this one? Did you specify the 2 different lines, or was this more like a sample or what they could provide?

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

KU line looks good. What is the difference between the first suji and this one? Did you specify the 2 different lines, or was this more like a sample or what they could provide?

KU suji is thinner, but the bevels are a bit more pronounced - I think it has to do with preserving the KU finish. Great distal taper. This would I would consider a laser suji given the thinness and the grind.
It's 265mm on the edge and 280mm from handle to tip. It weights 125g without a handle.

M

 

[Gator]

They look nice. Sounds like a good steel, too.

SKD12 steel is Japanese equivalent of AISI A2 steel. Not SS though, just 4.5% Cr. But I figure most of use never really care about SS.

In general A2 is known for toughness in large, heavy duty blades, but if hardness is high, it can be a very solid performer in light cutters too, because it resists chipping mucho better than SKD11(D2). CPM 3V, which is also popular choice in large blades due to its toughness, performs superbly in thin utility knife at 62HRC, one of the reasons I am counting on SKD12 high performance.

I haven't yet tried A2 or SKD12 at hardness close to max, sadly most of the production knives out there are anywhere from 55HRC (CRK knives) to about 59HRC, and as far as I know, A2 can go 61-62HRC, and unlike other steels, it has better toughness at 60+ hardness than in 55-57HRC range.
Given Yoshikane's HT for SKD11, where they go all they way to the max, I'd hope they'll do the same for SKD12 or A2.

 

[Mattias504]

Those knives look sick. KU Damascus!?!?!? I didn't know such a wonderful thing even existed. That is evil. You are bad for my knife buying recovery attempt.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Those knives look sick. KU Damascus!?!?!? I didn't know such a wonderful thing even existed. That is evil. You are bad for my knife buying recovery attempt.

Well, it is last of the three available. Shoot me a pm if interested.

M

 

[JohnnyChance]

Any chance you will have examples of these at ECG?

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Any chance you will have examples of these at ECG?

Hmm... Looks like I won't be bringing it. Sold just minutes ago.

M

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

Hmm... Looks like I won't be bringing it. Sold just minutes ago.

M

I might bring kasumi gyuto instead.

 

[JohnnyChance]

Doh! I wanted to check out one of those KU suji's. Next purchase I think needs to be a semi or full stainless 270 wa suji.

 

[Marko Tsourkan]

I will be ordering Kasumi and regular damascus suji in the next week or so. I will order more KU suji if there is at least 2 people interested. I have to order 3 of each.

M